Free to Play ARK: Survival Evolved Spin-Off Announced

A spin-off of its ARK: Survival Evolved game, SotF is what Studio Wildcard calls a "Multiplayer Online Survival Arena" game, saying the game is built "for the burgeoning wild west of eSports."

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"Each month the Top-10 ranked players of ARK: Survival of the Fittest will be automatically determined" within one of the game's four modes, and from those rankings players will be awarded "cash prize winnings from Studio Wildcard."

The payouts are "more than $50,000 in monthly cash prizes."

Originally a "total conversion mod" within ARK: Survival Evolved, the stand-alone game "brings all the features of the mod," as well as upgrades like "dedicated eSports ranking, matchmaking, reward, and tournament features."

Studio Wildcard said Survival of the Fittest is "heavily inspired by The Hunger Games." Up to 72 players on official servers and 200 on unofficial servers can compete in a "struggle for survival against the harsh environment, creatures," and something called "Evolution Events."

Right now the game can be played on Xbox One Game Preview and as a Steam Early Access title. The PS4 version of the game is being developed with PlayStation VR support, while the Steam version has Oculus Rift support, as well as Steam features like workshop and Steam Economy.

The cash incentive makes it alluring, but will we be seeing highlights in the top 5 esports moments of the year?